EAGER:PBI: Integrating Social and Economic Considerations in Ecosystem Innovation for Equitable Economic Development Grant uri icon

abstract

  • Equitable place-based economic development - grounded in technological innovation - requires the convergence of a network of actors, including local communities, academic institutions, community colleges, local government and state agencies, entrepreneurial support organizations, investors, and private sector industry and business1. Given the complexity of necessary interactions, innovation as a driver of regional economic development must consider the multi-dimensional socio-economic context of its regional communities2. Notably, overarching blueprints for de novo development of high-tech innovation ecosystems in underserved and under-resourced rural regions are sparse, perhaps confounded by the complexity of US rural challenges and the infrastructure necessary to create innovation-based, self-sustaining growth centers. Similarly, there is no broadly applicable framework for rural community engagement in emergent innovation that can guide the development of rapid, equitable outcomes for workers, while also ensuring opportunities for medium- and long-term career progression. In this, the North Carolina Ecosystem Technology (NC EcoTech) Developmental ENGINE, located in coastal North Carolina, provides the ideal test case for exploratory mechanisms designed to create scalable and reproducible systems of innovation-based economic growth and equitable workforce development, focusing on ensuring long-term livelihoods rather than situational/transient improvements in economic well-being.

date/time interval

  • October 2024 - September 2026

contributor